Anciens peuplements littoraux et relations Homme/Milieu sur les côtes de l’Europe atlantique Ancient Maritime Communities and the Relationship between People and Environment along the European Atlantic Coasts Sous la direction de / Edited by Marie-Yvane Daire, Catherine Dupont, Anna Baudry, Cyrille Billard, Jean-Marc Large, Laurent Lespez, Eric Normand and Chris Scarre Avec la collaboration de / With the collaboration of Francis Bertin, Chloé Martin et Kate Sharpe BAR International Series 2570 2013 Published by Archaeopress Publishers of British Archaeological Reports Gordon House 276 Banbury Road Oxford OX2 7ED England [email protected] www.archaeopress.com BAR S2570 Anciens peuplements littoraux et relations Homme/Milieu sur les côtes de l’Europe Atlantique / Ancient Maritime Communities and the Relationship between People and Environment along the European Atlantic Coasts © Archaeopress and the individual authors 2013 ISBN 978 1 4073 1191 3 pour citer ce volume / how to cite: Daire M.Y., Dupont C., Baudry A., Billard C., Large J.M., Lespez L., Normand E., Scarre C. (dir.), 2013. Ancient Maritime Communities and the Relationship between People and Environment along the European Atlantic Coasts / Anciens peuplements littoraux et relations Home/Milieu sur les côtes de l’Europe atlantique. Proceedings of the HOMER 2011 Conference, Vannes (France), 28/09-1/10/2011. British Archaeological Reports, International Series 2570, Oxford: Archaeopress. Printed in England by Information Press, Oxford All BAR titles are available from: Hadrian Books Ltd 122 Banbury Road Oxford OX2 7BP England www.hadrianbooks.co.uk The current BAR catalogue with details of all titles in print, prices and means of payment is available free from Hadrian Books or may be downloaded from www.archaeopress.com FRUITS OF THE SEA: INVESTIGATING MARINE RESOURCE USE IN THE NORTH ATLANTIC ISLANDS. Jennifer R JONES, School of History, Archaeology and Religion, Cardiff University, Column Drive, Cardiff, CF10 3EU, United Kingdom, email: [email protected] Jacqui MULVILLE, School of History, Archaeology and Religion, Cardiff University, Column Drive, Cardiff, CF10 3EU, United Kingdom, email: [email protected] Richard P. EVERSHED, School of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Cantock’s Close, Bristol, BS8 1TS, United Kingdom, email: [email protected] INTRODUCTION geographical dietary trends. CURRENT NORTH ATLANTIC SUBSISTENCE MODELS The past and present island communities of the North Atlantic Islands have access to a rich and diverse resource Current models of subsistence in the North Atlantic base, including wild and domestic terrestrial animals, sea Islands, based on stable isotope analysis have suggested PDPPDOV ¿VK VKHOO¿VK DQG ELUGV 8QGHUVWDQGLQJ WKH WKDW ZKHQ WKH KXQWHUJDWKHUHU¿VKHUV RI WKH 0HVROLWKLF changing role of marine resources through time in these adopted farming in the Neolithic, marine foods no longer islands can be a challenge for archaeologists. With the PDGH D VLJQL¿FDQW FRQWULEXWLRQ WR GLHW 6FKXOWLQJ DQG DGYDQFHPHQWV RI VFLHQWL¿F WHFKQLTXHV LQ DUFKDHRORJ\ Richards 2002). The Neolithic decline in the importance of a range of direct and indirect dietary indicators exist marine foods noted in the North Atlantic Islands is thought to investigate past diet. Pottery lipid residue analysis to continue until the arriving of the Viking settlers in the (Evershed et al., 2008), human and faunal 13& DQG į15N Norse period (Barrett et al., 2001). This model is based stable isotope analysis, and traditional zooarchaeological RQVWDEOHLVRWRSHDQDO\VLVUHSUHVHQWLQJDQRYHUVLPSOL¿HG techniques can all be used to investigate past dietary understanding of dietary trends through time, without behaviour on a range of different scales. Using a taking into account existing zooarchaeological evidence combination of these different techniques can enable a (Craig et al., 2006; Milner et al., 2004). Criticisms of the more complete understanding of the changing relationship integrated approach are that zooarchaeological analysis between past North Atlantic Island communities and the of bones from the same sites as the human remains are sea. necessary for valid interpretation (Hedges 2004), however as many of the skeletal remains come cemeteries and burials with no associated faunal remains this is not always THE NORTH ATLANTIC ISLANDS realistic to achieve. The rapid change in marine food consumption patterns The term “North Atlantic Islands” refers to the island during the Mesolithic Neolithic transition has been groups off the coast of Scotland, (Figure 1), and can be challenged in other parts of Europe, studies by Erikkson broadly categorised into two groups; the Northern Isles (2004) and Lidén et al., (2004) demonstrate that marine which includes Orkney and Shetland, and the Western resource use continued into the Neolithic in Sweden, Isles, which refers to the islands of the Inner Hebrides and VXJJHVWLQJ WKDW WKH WUDQVLWLRQ ZDV D PRUH ÀXLG HYHQW Outer Hebrides, including North and South Uist, Lewis The same can be seen in Denmark where studies have and Harris. emphasised the highly complexity nature of the Mesolithic- Due to the rich and diverse archaeological heritage Neolithic transition (Fischer et al., 2007). More recently on the islands they have been subject to large scale work by Craig et al., (2011) of pottery residues and research projects, generating a wealth of archaeological bioarchaeological evidence in the Western Baltic region LQIRUPDWLRQ )RU LQVWDQFH WKH 6($5&+ 6KHI¿HOG has demonstrated post Neolithic marine resource use. Environmental and Archaeological Research Campaign in These studies indicate that the issue of post Neolithic the Hebrides) and derivative projects enabled survey and resource use is highly complex, and a wide degree of excavation of a wide range of archaeological sites in the geographical variation has been observed, highlighting the Outer Hebrides including the sites at Mingulay, Barra and need for a more integrated approach to understanding past Pabbay (Branigan and Foster 2000), Bornais (Sharples marine subsistence. 2005), Dun Vulan (Parker Pearson and Sharples 1999), Zooarchaeological analysis of North Atlantic Island and Cille Donnain (Parker Pearson et al., 2004). With such assemblages dating from the Neolithic onwards a vast quantity of archaeological information available in GHPRQVWUDWHWKHSUHVHQFHRI¿VKERQHVVKHOO¿VKDQGVHD these islands, there is great potential to draw together the mammal remains; however the lack of marine signature data from across the islands to investigate temporal and in the stable isotope evidence of human bones indicates 501 HOMER : ANCIENS PEUPLEMENTS LITTORAUX / ANCIENT MARITIME COMMUNITIES Figure 1. Location Map of the North Atlantic Island with a focus on the Outer Hebrides (image courtesey of Ian Dennis, Cardiff University). that these foods were not being routinely eaten. Studies by in light of the zooarchaeological evidence. Regional studies Schulting et al., (2004; Schulting and Richards 2009) have of Northwest Europe using stable isotope evidence and more suggested that the limited marine resources recovered traditional zooarchaeological techniques (Tresset 2000, 2003), in Atlantic British assemblages may be a result of direct however these have been focussed on the Neolithic, and or indirect consumption of marine foods, or even non broader temporal comparisons would be to aid understanding consumption based practises. The possible scenarios to of dietary trends. This paper will present a broader temporal explain this are that marine foods were eaten as a seasonal and regional comparison of zooarchaeological and stable resource, a famine food, or may even have been used isotope data in the North Atlantic Islands to generate a greater as animal fodder. Research from Holm of Papa Westray understanding of the changing role of marine resource use in provides evidence for sheep seaweed consumption during the lives of past island communities. the Neolithic (Balasse et al., 2005, 2009) supporting the possibility that marine foods were utilised as animal fodder. Detailed analysis of human and faunal remains METHODOLOGY IRUį13&DQGį15N analysis in combination with traditional zooarchaeological methods enables a greater understanding Zooarchaeological analysis of the discrepancies between these two datasets, and will identify possible marine based foddering strategies. A wealth of zooarchaeological data exists for the North Studies integrating zooarchaeological data, with human Atlantic Island sites, with animal bone data from and faunal isotopic analysis exist, however they often small approximately 120 sites currently existing. Approaches in scale, for instance considering individual sites, small towards North Atlantic island zooarchaeology to date VWXG\UHJLRQVRUVSHFL¿FWLPHSHULRGVVXFKDVWKHUHVHDUFK DUH PDLQO\ VLWH VSHFL¿F RIWHQ ZLWK PDPPDOLDQ UHPDLQV FRQGXFWHGE\%RULüet al., (2004) studying Neolithic dietary DQDO\VHG LQGHSHQGHQWO\ IURP PDULQH PDPPDOV ¿VK DQG FKDQJHLQWKH'DQXEHUHJLRQ,QWKH1RUWK$WODQWLFVSHFL¿FDOO\ VKHOO¿VK HJ %RQG 1LFKROVRQ DQG 'DYLV Schulting and Richards (2009) conducted a smaller scale Ritchie 1983; Sharples 1984). Integrating data from study of Neolithic human, and animal stable isotope results, many different sites poses challenges when drawing 502 RESSOURCES - RESOURCES, JONES ET AL. ; FRUITS OF THE SEA: INVESTIGATING MARINE RESOURCE USE IN... comparisons in the dataset. Each of the sites in the analysis. Zooarchaeological analysis of the Western Isles study have been;